International
Myanmar: Village Link Launches Cutting-Edge Digital Communication Platform for Farmers
Mar 21, 2018
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Mizzima
Village Link, a leading digital service company in Myanmar, officially introduces Htwet Toe, an innovative agri-mobile application for the farmers of Myanmar that aims to…
Liberia: ArcelorMittal Liberia under House Probe
Mar 21, 2018
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Leroy M. Sonpon III, Liberian Observer
The Plenary of the House of Representatives has mandated the committees on Lands, Mines and Energy; the Judiciary, Investment, and Labor to investigate Arcelor Mittal…
Iraq: The Savior of Iraq’s Garden of Eden Says He Knows How to Stop the Next Big War
Mar 21, 2018
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Alexander C. Kaufman, Huffington Post
Azzam Alwash, the man credited with restoring the Iraqi marshlands believed to be the biblical garden of Eden, is ready to say something controversial: He…
South Sudan: US Targets South Sudan Oil Firms with Sanctions to Choke off War Funds
Mar 21, 2018
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Lesley Wroughton and Timothy Gardner, Reuters
The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on 15 South Sudanese oil operators that it said were important sources of cash for the government, an…
DRC: What Democratic Republic of Congo’s Mining Reform Means for Africa
Mar 20, 2018
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Stephen Yeboah, BBN Times
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has undertaken a bold reform in its mining sector. This month, DRC’s its president Joseph Kabila signed into law…
Myanmar: Protest against Myanma Gems Bill-2017 Held in Hpakant
Mar 20, 2018
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Aung Hein Min, Eleven
A protest against the Myanma Gems Bill-2017 yesterday was held in Hpakant Township, Kachin State jointly organized by Kachin National Congress-KNC, Kachin Democratic Party-KDP and…
Iraq: The Explosive Battle to Build an Iraqi National Park [Photos]
Mar 19, 2018
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Peter Schwartzstein, National Geographic
If a determined band of local environmentalists get their way, all this might soon form part of Iraq’s first international standard national park. Undeterred by…
Liberia: Forest Dependents Hold Consultation on Community Resources Management
Mar 19, 2018
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FrontPage Africa
Under the auspices of the Liberia Forest Sector Project (LFSP), a team from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) headed by the LFSP Focal Person, Z.…
Myanmar: ‘Excessive Mining’ Blamed for Kachin Water Shortage
Mar 19, 2018
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Aung Hein Min, Eleven
Residents of Kachin State have said “excessive jade mining” is a reason for a water shortage in the hot season. The Lonekhin village-tract where the…
South Sudan: Cows in the Classroom: Inside South Sudan's Cattle Camp Schools
Mar 19, 2018
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Stefanie Glinski, Thomson Reuters Foundation
Aid agencies are starting to provide mobile education in the remote cattle camps amid fears that South's Sudan's latest civil war is creating another "lost…
Iraq: Iraq Weighs Building an Island to Boost Oil-Exporting Capacity
Mar 19, 2018
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Khalid Al Ansary, Bloomberg
OPEC’s second-biggest producer is ramping up efforts to expand capacity to pump and export oil, with plans that include the injection of seawater into crude…
Iraq: Oil Was Supposed to Rebuild Iraq
Mar 19, 2018
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Krishnadev Calamur, Atlantic
In the lead-up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq 15 years ago, one factor in the debate was the notion that the the war would…
Afghanistan: Gemstone Smuggler Says Badakhshan Mines out of Govt Control
Mar 18, 2018
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Tamim Hamid, TOLOnews
A suspected gem stone smuggler has said mines in Badakhshan’s Karan-o-Manjan district, especially those extracting Lapis Lazuli, are out of government’s control and are being…
Afghanistan: ‘Killed, Shovel in Hand’: Afghan Farmers Are Latest Victims of a Chaotic War
Mar 18, 2018
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Zabihullah Ghazi and Mujib Mashal, New York Times
Afghanistan has experienced a rise in violence in recent weeks, even before the official start of what is expected to be another bloody fighting season,…
Afghanistan: Opium Production in Afghanistan Reaches Record High [Video]
Mar 17, 2018
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Tony Birtley, Al Jazeera
Opium production in Afghanistan has been on the rise since the US invasion in 2001. Last year 9,000 tonnes were produced, an increase of 87…
Myanmar: Confiscated Land Returned to Farmers
Mar 16, 2018
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Mizzima
The Myanmar government has returned some 385 acres (156 hectares) of land out of 1,081 acres, confiscated by the Ministry of Defense, to 82 farmers…
DRC: Cobalt to Be Declared a ”Strategic” Mineral in DR Congo
Mar 16, 2018
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Herald
An advisor to Congolese Prime Minister Jean Nkunza on Wednesday said the Democratic Republic of Congo will declare cobalt and coltan, as “strategic” minerals which will earn…
Colombia: More Than 800 Businesses in Colombia Tied to Death Squads: Report
Mar 16, 2018
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Frank Cardona, Colombia Reports
More than 800 businesses sponsored paramilitary groups that committed tens of thousands of human right violations in Colombia, in most cases without consequence, according to…
Afghanistan: Hopes Overflow for Afghan Water Project
Mar 16, 2018
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Safiullah Amiri, Institute for War & Peace Reporting
Residents of Nimruz have high hopes about the dramatic differences a major dam project will have on life in the semi-arid province. Now in its…
Colombia: Climate-Smart Farming in Colombia’s Last Agricultural Frontier
Mar 16, 2018
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World Bank
The Orinoquía is considered Colombia’s last agricultural frontier, with the potential to serve as a food source for Colombia, and the world. While exploiting this…
Iraq: Iraq Establishes National Oil Company
Mar 16, 2018
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Adnan Abu Zeed, Al-Monitor
The Iraqi parliament voted March 5 on the National Oil Company draft law, which regulates oil production and exports and fairly distributes its revenues to…
Food Security: Study Questions Food Scarcity Link in Driving African Conflict
Mar 16, 2018
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Africa Times
It isn’t climate change that will increase the frequency of civil war in Africa as a result of food scarcity, according to a study recently…
Afghanistan: Pressure Builds in 'Powderkeg' Kabul as Refugees Return Home
Mar 15, 2018
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Preethi Nallu, Guardian
Despite the billions of dollars being poured into the “stabilisation” of Afghanistan, the latest figures on displacement paint an alarming picture. The UN High Commissioner…
Colombia: In Colombia, a Losing Battle to Keep a Dump off Native Lands
Mar 15, 2018
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Camila Taborda, Worldcrunch
For more than a decade, locals have done everything in their power to stop the project, demanding, among other things, that the Interior Ministry consult…
Conflict Minerals: EU Conflict Minerals Bill Still Three Years from becoming Reality
Mar 15, 2018
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Benjamin Fox, Euractiv
Nearly a year after being signed off by MEPs and ministers, the EU’s long-awaited conflict minerals law is still three years from going live. The…
DRC: Glencore, Randgold Mines Quit Congolese Industry Body ahead of Govt Talks
Mar 15, 2018
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Reuters
Mines run by Glencore, Randgold Resources and three other international companies have quit the Democratic Republic of Congo’s chamber of commerce, saying the industry body…
Sierra Leone: Waiting for Benefits from Sierra Leone's Giant 'Peace Diamond'
Mar 14, 2018
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Abu-Bakarr Jalloh, Deutsche Welle
One of the world's biggest uncut diamonds, the egg-sized gem was sold at auction for $6.5 million in December 2017 (the price was disappointing as…
Liberia: Global Oil Palm Body Rebukes GVL over Land Grab in Sinoe, Grand Kru
Mar 14, 2018
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FrontPage Africa
The Complaint Panel of the Roundtable on Sustainable Oil Palm (RSPO) has rebuked Golden Veroleum Liberia (GVL) for land grab in communities in Sinoe and…
Bangladesh: The Biggest Refugee Camp Braces for Rain: ‘This Is Going to Be a Catastrophe'
Mar 14, 2018
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Somini Sengupta and Henry Fountain, New York Times
The world’s largest refugee camp, a temporary home to more than half a million people that sprawls precariously across barren hills in southeastern Bangladesh, faces…
Myanmar: Karen Villagers Protest Hatgyi Dam, Other Projects on Salween River
Mar 14, 2018
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Nyein Nyein, Irrawaddy
More than 1,700 people living near the site of the planned Hatgyi Dam on the Salween River in Karen State’s Hpapun district gathered to show…